Calls mount for government action on rogue construction employers
8th July 2009
Government can no longer resist calls to curb 'rogue;
construction industry employers with the publication today
(Wednesday) of a report by the former head of ACAS Rita Donaghy for
the department of work and pensions into the prevalence of rogue
labour providers (gangmasters) in the construction trade.
Unite wants legislation to be introduced to outlaw rogue
employers immediately, arguing that they drive down wages and
compromise health and safety laws.
The report criticises the epidemic of poor employers in the
industry and backs longstanding calls by trade unions and MPs to
toughen up the law. Unite says there must now be no delay in
extending the regulation of labour providers by the Gangmasters
Licensing Authority (GLA) in the food and agriculture sector to
cover construction industry employers too.
According to Unite, such powerful independent recommendations mean
that the time has now come for government to act.
Jack Dromey, Unite deputy general secretary, said: "Rogue
gangmasters put life and limb at risk, flout employment rights and
rip off the taxpayer. Rogues also undermine reputable
employers.
"Extending the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will
make building sites safer, protect building workers and benefit the
public purse by ending tax dodging."
Unite is concerned that limiting the reach of the Gangmasters
Licensing Authority to food and agriculture, as at present, means
rogue gangmasters move out of the regulated sector and into others,
chiefly construction, where they can exploit workers with little
fear of recrimination. Unite, together with the construction union
Ucatt, has been campaigning for an extension of the gangmasters
Act, passed in 2004, into the building trade, hospitality and
social care, all industries with high concentrations of labour
providers.
Unite supported Jim Sheridan MP who promoted the original
Gangmasters Licensing Act which established the Gangmasters
Licensing Authority (GLA). In its short existence, the GLA has
helped improve labour standards across the food sector.
ENDS
For further information please call Pauline Doyle on 07976 832
861
